Exploring the Role of Career and Technical Education in Putting Students on a Path to Economic Success
Summary
Once seen as an alternative to college, modern Career and Technical Education (CTE) is designed to be a pathway into postsecondary education and prosperous careers for all students. However, there is a lack of rigorous empirical research on the efficacy of high school CTE for preparing students for postsecondary education and the workforce. Moreover, we do not know what factors may mediate these outcomes or whether CTE may benefit some students more than others. Through this project, the research team analyzed Michigan data to examine (a) the characteristics of CTE participants and completers, (b) the access to CTE overall and separately by program and student demographic, and (c) the relationship between CTE participation/completion and high school graduation. The project was expanded to Texas to further explore the relationship between participation in/completion of high school CTE programs and several key outcomes, including postsecondary enrollment, postsecondary attainment, employment and earnings.
